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Chapter 74…….
It really did feel like my body was shattering.
Of course, falling from such a height would have that result, but the pain was unbearable—
It was as if my entire body had been impaled on razor-sharp thorns so deeply that even my heart trembled.
Mom…
In that moment, I saw my mother’s face, smiling warmly at me.
And then I blacked out.
[Child, my child. Wake up now.]
But instead of being dead, I felt someone poking my cheek with a finger!
Like a person waking from a deep, long sleep, I forced my heavy eyelids open and stared groggily at the “person” in front of me.
Wow… so white…
The thought came out like a child’s innocent remark.
The “person” before me looked as if they themselves had been carved from snow—from their clothes to their skin.
A pure white tunic, and even the veil covering their face was snowy white.
And they were… familiar.
My eyes widened, and when our gazes met, the “person” smiled gently and leaned closer toward me.
[So you’re finally awake? My dear child, my heart trembled thinking you had died. I even went as far as to turn back time for you—don’t tell me you went and died anyway.]
“You’re…”
[You recognize me?]
As a citizen of the Estie Empire, how could I not?
I’d seen and heard about this “person” to the point of exhaustion and studied all their great deeds.
Of course, I’d never actually seen them in person—only through the illustrations in theology books.
The Goddess Eridium.
The woman before me resembled the woman in those drawings almost exactly.
As if reading my mind, the “person” said, [Yes, child, what you’re thinking is correct.]
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Why would the Goddess be in a place like this…! D–Did you descend here? No, wait… Don’t tell me…”
I couldn’t finish the sentence and bowed my head.
Am I… dead?
Then—
[Hmm, close. But you’re not dead.]
“What?”
[Is your body feeling fine now?]
“Uh… yes.”
Now that I thought about it, when I fell off the cliff, I’d plummeted straight into the waterfall below, the impact sending a bone-crushing pain through my whole body.
It’s true… I passed out from the pain alone.
But now… my body was spotless, without a single scratch.
That’s when I realized something was off.
Where I’d fallen had been the raging waters beneath a cliff, but this place wasn’t freezing, suffocating water.
It was a temple.
Surrounding me was a vivid landscape of nature, crowned by the majestic grandeur of a massive temple—so beautiful it felt unreal.
And there, the Goddess and I looked at each other. She smiled faintly and caressed my cheek.
[You’re calmer than I expected. I thought you’d be leaping around in surprise.]
“…Sometimes a person’s so shocked they can’t even scream.”
[I suppose so.]
She nodded, and I steadied my pounding heart before speaking.
“Goddess, what happened? Why am I here…? I definitely fell down that cliff.”
[You did.]
“And… this isn’t a place someone insignificant like me should be, right?”
If I had to guess, this was the Goddess’s own space—the “temple” built for her.
How in the world did I end up here?
But that wasn’t the only strange thing.
“You said I’m dead but also not dead? What does that even mean…?”
The Goddess looked at me steadily, then spoke.
[Exactly what I said—you’re in a state that is neither alive nor dead. Rarely, there are children like you, who wander between life and death. I’m the one who decides whether to send them back or let them die.]
“…So if you decide to let me live, I’ll come back to life?”
[That’s correct—but it also depends on your will. If your desire to live is strong, you’ll continue living. If not…]
It meant I’d die.
I’m not ready to die yet.
I hadn’t completed my revenge, and if I died now, my mother would probably meet a miserable end at the hands of the Empress and that girl.
I clenched my jaw.
“So I’m here because… my body’s badly injured right now, isn’t it?”
[Clever girl. Just as you said, your body is currently in a half-paralyzed state. Even if your soul returns, you might die of shock and come straight back here. So you’ll stay with me here for just a short while.]
“How long? How long do I have to stay?”
The Goddess smiled and patted my head.
[About ten minutes.]
The hunting festival, originally set to last seven days, ended in just half a day because of the disappearance of the First Princess.
And because they had to find the culprit, the nobles who had participated in the hunt were all confined to the palace.
Half the Imperial Knights were dispatched to search Mount Milla for the princess, while the other half guarded—and kept watch over—the distinguished guests.
When the news reached the citizens, the streets buzzed with chatter. And inevitably, the news of Lilien’s disappearance reached her ears.
“Y–Your Highness, please… compose yourself…!”
“H–How can I… possibly… be calm…?”
Ayla’s face was deathly pale.
Anyone who saw her would swallow nervously, thinking she might collapse at any moment.
Supported by a young maid, Ayla stared at her own trembling body—her palms and limbs shaking like leaves in the wind.
She clutched her head and groaned in pain.
“Lili…”
When was it that she had collapsed before?
It had been when her child was five.
Back then, she’d been utterly exhausted. She had never wanted this marriage.
Her family, Count Epsilard, had been pushed into it under the pressure of Duke Alpe. They were a poor noble family, noble in name only, and Ayla herself had never enjoyed socializing.
No—she had hated it.
People’s words, even when outwardly concerned for her, always carried a hidden blade that stabbed at her heart.
She had expected to live quietly, meeting some decent man to marry—but then…
Ayla, it seems our chance has finally come.
One day her father had grasped her shoulders and laughed with delight. His joy was infectious, so Ayla smiled too and asked what had happened.
And then she heard something unexpected.
A letter had come from the Empress—Ayla had been chosen as a candidate for the newly instituted consort system.
Several families were involved.
Well, since our family is nobility in name only, there’s no way I’ll be chosen.
Ayla had thought little of it. But she hadn’t known—
The lower the status of the family, the easier it was for the Empress to control them and turn them into the Emperor’s weaknesses.
Becoming the First Consort had been the trigger that destroyed Ayla’s life.
She eventually had a child, but with an Emperor who never spared her a glance, she withered day by day, until finally she uttered words a mother should never say:
“If only you had been a boy… Or better yet, stillborn…”
Her sleeping child’s face had been so lovely, looking just like her own—but somehow she had hated it.
At one point she even wondered if she should kill the child, placing her hands near that small neck.
Maybe if she did, she thought, she could die too.
But then—
“…Mmm…”
The child stirred uncomfortably under her touch.
And at that moment, the tiny hand grasped its mother’s hand and smiled.
“….”
Ayla stared blankly for a long while.
A mirror sat on the nightstand, and when she saw her reflection, she recoiled, stepping back from the child.
“I… What have I… D–Did I just… kill…?”
I… tried to kill my own child?
Unable to finish the words, Ayla covered her mouth with her hand and trembled.
After nearly a year of this, she collapsed from sheer mental exhaustion.
By then, she no longer hoped for the Emperor’s love.
She might have wished for the tiniest scrap of affection, but in her condition, she couldn’t care for her child.
So when her daughter turned five, she entrusted her entirely to Yolde, a maid she had brought from her family.
She thought ignoring the child completely would be best for both of them.
“Your Highness, the First Princess Lilien—”
“I don’t want to see her.”
“….”
“Send her away.”
“…Understood.”
She refused visits from her daughter, pretending to be asleep when she came.
And yet… she wanted to see her, peeking with half-closed eyes at the small back leaving the room.
Ayla hated her child—but at the same time, she loved her so much it hurt.
Years passed.
One day, the cold First Consort’s Palace began to fill with construction work and gifts.
Yolde had betrayed her, and a new head maid had arrived—apparently from the Epsilard family.
Surprised, Ayla stared at the new servants gathered to greet her.
Strange things kept happening, and when Ayla finally heard news of her daughter, she thought perhaps the strangest thing of all was the girl herself.
“The Magic Tower… She negotiated with the Tower Master and got orichalcum?”
“Yes, Your Highness! And that was a month ago~! You must be so proud!”
How had her frail, timid daughter gone to such a den of eccentrics and done something so bold?
It must have been sheer luck…
But that thought didn’t hold. News of Lilien reached Ayla whether she wanted it or not, spilling from the mouths of the new servants.
“I heard the First Princess developed a medicine—”
“She was even invited to the breakfast banquet—”
“The Emperor dotes on her so much!”
The maids gossiping in the garden carried their voices to Ayla’s ears through the terrace windows.
“I met the First Princess once—she’s so strong-willed. Even at her age, her spirit is unmatched.”
The words clung to her and wouldn’t leave.
“You’re… different from your mother, aren’t you…”
What she had thought was luck was in fact growth—the girl was truly flourishing.
Unlike herself.
“Hhh…”
Emotion welled up suddenly.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness…
That child hadn’t turned out like her.
She could handle herself. She would think that if her mother cared for her now, it was because she was worth something, not because her mother truly loved her.
I just don’t want her to be hurt.
Ayla maintained her façade of “indifference,” listening for news of her daughter.
And now, upon hearing Lilien’s disappearance, she was about to run out of the palace, with the maids desperately trying to stop her.
Rina, the one who had served Ayla most closely, clung to her skirts, shaking her head.
“M–My Lady…! The atmosphere in the palace is tense right now. If you go out, everyone’s eyes will be on you—”
“What does that matter? Let go!”
“N–No! Please…! Wh–What if you run into Her Majesty the Empress…?!”
Everyone knew the Empress disliked Ayla.
She had hoped to use Ayla to win the Emperor’s affection, but Ayla had failed to perform any duties properly.
So if she drew the Empress’s attention now, nothing good would come of it. Rina, though aware it was disrespectful, did everything to hold her back.
“You all know what happens to those who defy an imperial order.”
A chill crept into the voice of the Consort famous for her frailty.
The maids holding her back shivered and stared at her in disbelief.
One by one, they let go of her.
Only Rina still clung to her skirt, meeting her gaze.
“….”
“Let go.”
Unconsciously, Rina’s grip slackened. The maids blocking the door stepped aside.
Ayla slowly reached for the handle. She hesitated for a brief moment—
It had been five years since she had stepped outside on her own two feet.
She didn’t like attention, but…
I want to know… how far the search for my child has gone…
It was ridiculous, but she was still that child’s mother.
Even if, for the past five years, she had turned her back on her… even if the girl rejected her and mocked her—
When it came to her life or death, Ayla wanted to hear it with her own ears.
She took a deep breath and opened the door.
It was the moment Ayla Sharf Kaliberg, Second Consort, broke the chains she had worn for five years.
Bang!
Rius slammed his hand on the desk, glaring fiercely at Lenald.
“What did you just say?”
“…The First Princess’s hair ornament has been found… But the place where it was found…”
It was close to the cliff.
And near the cliff’s edge, they had also found footprints believed to belong to the First Princess and her would-be assassin.
Rius scrubbed his face roughly with his hand.
“What about the assassin?”
“Well…”
Lenald lowered his head, biting his lip hard.
The assassin was dead.
They had tracked the footprints and found them—only for the assassin to commit suicide on the spot. No one would ever know who had hired them to kill a member of the imperial family.
Of course, there was one obvious suspect.
Empress Dolores.
But with the assassin dead, no one could speak that truth aloud.
No one.
Then—
Thud…!
A dull sound came from outside the door, drawing both men’s eyes toward it.
They froze, eyes wide in disbelief.
“You…”
Rius stared at the figure standing in the doorway.
Ayla, pale to the point of looking ghostly white, was there.
